As a Central New Yorker and a Syracusan, I've always been intensely proud of the incredible tradition of lacrosse success at West Genesee High School, which really seems to be the spring that has generated so much of our extraordinary culture of lacrosse in this town.

Part of that is simply being a dad who has two children at Corcoran. But the bigger part of it goes to something deeper.

Ten years ago, I think anyone with any knowledge of interscholastic lacrosse would have laughed at the notion of a team from Corcoran ever playing on that kind of level, or having the resources or resilience to get to that kind of level.

I hope this victory is one small analogy for what could happen to the city schools academically, culturally and socially - and that in 10 years we look back in equal disbelief on a time when those schools went through such a general struggle.